12 Minutes

I think this is an amazing fact. Professional NFL football games last an average of 3 hours and 6 minutes. But the actual time the ball is in play—from the time the ball is snapped to the time the whistle blows the play dead—is only 12 minutes and 8 seconds! (According to a study by Wired.) Then why do those linemen and receivers get so darn tired? They only play 12 minutes! The rest of the time is just spent standing around or sitting on the bench or walking/trotting on and off the field.


Let's stop and think about it. During the actual 12 minutes of play, linemen are pushing and shoving with all their might. Receivers and defenders are doing some pushing and shoving, but mostly sprinting and jumping. Ball carriers are running and dodging and being pummeled to the ground. Defenders are also grapping and pulling big men down to the ground.


For three hours the game goes on, but only for twelve minutes do the players give their all. It sounds like it should be easy. But it is an exhausting sport—even for men who are in top notch shape. It is combat. It takes everything out of you.


It's something like what you see when you go to the symphony concert. Watch the trumpet players. The music may go on for two and a half hours. But much of that time the trumpeters are sitting with their trumpets on their knees, just watching the music. Occasionally they will raise their trumpets and play a few seconds, then put them back on their knees. The trumpeters always get excited when a piece comes along that has a lot of notes for the brass parts. They may not play much on a certain piece, but when they do play, their part is important.


Our lives have periods of intensity and periods of restfulness. A young mother finds herself in the 12 minutes of life when she is exhausted and thinks she can't go on. A retired person may find himself in the other 54 minutes on the bench and wonder if he will ever get in the game again.


Each of us has to train ourselves to be ready for the 12 minutes. There are times in life that seem longer than they really are. For most of us, the pain we experience in life is a small percentage of our total experience. If we imagine that life's pains are bigger or lengthier than they are, we lose perspective and begin to obsess about pain. But if we step back and see that the pain is only 12 minutes out of the whole game, it becomes more manageable.


No doubt about it—NFL players play their hearts out in those 12 minutes. And when they are through, they know they have given a whole day's work in those few minutes.


There is a time to go all-out. There is a time to rest. There is a time to be in training. What time is it for you?